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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. file — a line of people
  3. degree — an amount
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. file — a document
  7. cue — for pool
  8. clip — a video
  9. file — a tool
  10. degree — temperature
  11. clip — for paper
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. cue — a hint
  14. spring — the season
  15. cue — a signal
  16. season — of the year
  17. mug — to rob
  18. season — in sport
  19. clip — to cut
  20. spring — of water
  21. mug — a cup
  22. spring — a coil
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. degree — from a university

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com